More than £8,000 has been raised towards a campaign to improve the facilities at Beccles Lido.

The news comes as the pool closes for 2017, with visitors numbers slightly down on last year’s record year when 46,138 people passed through the gates.

Lido director Shaun Crowley said: “Despite a fantastic start to the season, distinctly average weather during the school summer holidays meant that lido visitor numbers were 4,000 down on last year’s record. But the directors are still delighted and the lido proved yet again that it is the place to go, whatever the weather.”

And for the lido team, this season has been all about pulling in the pounds for a new toilet block, with the portable toilet facilities currently on site installed under temporary planning permission in 1995.

Mr Crowley said: “Despite the praise the lido gets, it’s the toilets that let it down and which are the target for poor reviews. They simply have to be replaced. But that’s going to cost over £100,000.”

Visitors enjoying Beccles Lido this summer. Picture: Nick Butcher.

So far, £40,000 has been raised through grant application and at the start of the season the lido team set the community a challenge to raise another £10,000.

And thanks to the generosity of various local organisations and individuals, as well as some community fundraisers, over £8,140 is now in the pot.

“Grant funders look for match funding and community support,” said Mr Crowley. “If we can show that we have already raised half the target then they will look upon us much more favourably.”

Now the lido has closed, work has started removing the old toilets.

Beccles Lido. Picture: Archant Library.

Mr Crowley added: “Please, please, please help us to push what is already a fantastic community fundraising effort to our £10,000 target, as this will really prove that Beccles is completely behind our project and we hope lead to grant funders giving us the balance of funds that we so desperately require.”

Grants totalling the remaining £50,000 needed for the project have already been submitted, with the first decisions expected end at the end of this month.